Last Season: 53-18-11 117 pts (1st in Central Division; Lost in Western Conference 2nd Round)
Key Additions: D Dan Hamhuis and F Connor Brickley
Key Departures: D Alexei Emelin, F Mike Fischer, and F Scott Hartnell
Top Questions Facing the Predators:
- No change. Good or Bad?
During exit interviews the team stated that they wanted to stick together and give it one more try which was easy to accomplish for General Manager David Poile, now in his 20th season with the franchise, as 19 players were already under contract for this season, and three were Restricted and were automatically qualified. However, recent history has shown that the last three teams (Vancouver 2011, Boston 2013, and NY Rangers 2014) to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, then win the President’s Trophy don’t make it close to the Stanley Cup the following seasons. Can Nashville break this trend?
2. Can they fix their defensive woes that were exposed in the playoffs?
During their 2nd round matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, their defense was exposed by Winnipeg’s heavy forecheck which caused them to cough up many turnovers. While Nashville’s defense contributes a lot of offense for this team, this will be a key area that they will need to focus on fixing. One key thing that will help is the fact that all of the defensive pairings are going to be back together for a third straight season.
